Barcelona turn their attention on to Chelsea for one of their next signings

onDecember 17, 2012

Barcelona have identified Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois as the man to replace Victor Valdes in the team but have not yet made a formal offer to the European Champions, the Sun reports.

Courtois was signed by the London club on a 5-year deal from Racing Genk in 2011 but was loaned out to Spanish club Atletico Madrid the same season to replace Manchester United bound David de Gea. The Belgian has made close to 50 appearances for Atletico since 2011 and has progressed into one of the top young goalkeepers in Europe, also earning 7 international caps for Belgium.

Barcelona No.1 Victor Valdes has been a regular in the side for over half a decade. However, the Catalan giants are keen to find an understudy for the Spaniard and Courtois is the player targeted.

Chelsea have Petr Cech as their undisputed No.1 and signed Courtois with an eye to the future, and loaned him out to Atletico for regular game time. The London club are looking to bring Courtois back at the end of the season to dispense with any hopes possible suitors have of signing the player.